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Havoc AI, founded in 2024 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, is a leader in all-domain collaborative autonomy. The company develops software-defined hardware for military and commercial autonomous systems across sea, air, and land domains. Havoc's technology enables assets to share information, adapt in real time, and operate even when communications are disrupted or denied.
The Senior Drone Engineer role is a hands-on technical leadership position focused on advancing Locust, an advanced unmanned aircraft system (UAS), from prototype to Department of Defense (DoD) fieldable, Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) platform.
Key responsibilities include leading structural design and analysis of the Locust airframe, including static, fatigue, and crashworthiness assessments. You will drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) reviews to transform prototype designs into repeatable, production-ready hardware. You own material selection, composite manufacturing processes, and supplier qualification for primary and secondary structures. You will develop and execute structural test programs—coupon, component, and full-vehicle testing—to support airworthiness certification and LRIP milestones, and establish the airframe configuration baseline including engineering change orders and configuration management.
You will partner with propulsion, avionics, and payload teams to integrate subsystems while maintaining structural integrity and weight targets. You'll lead first article inspections and production acceptance testing with manufacturing partners, develop build-to-print packages and manufacturing work instructions, and support flight test campaigns by analyzing results and driving corrective actions.
Engineering program leadership duties include maintaining engineering schedules, tracking progress against production milestones, and identifying risks and mitigation strategies. You will prepare and present technical reviews and program status updates for executive leadership and government customers, including SRR, PDR, CDR, and PRR milestone reviews. You will lead and mentor a small team of engineers and technicians and support proposal development and cost estimating for follow-on production efforts.
Required qualifications: 8–12 years of experience in UAS or aerospace structural design, analysis, testing, and product development. Proficiency with modern 3D CAD software (CATIA, SolidWorks, Siemens NX, or equivalent) and structural analysis using FEA tools (Nastran, ANSYS, or equivalent). Demonstrated success transitioning aerospace systems from prototype (TRL 5–6) through production readiness or LRIP. Experience preparing or contributing to airworthiness documentation, including structural substantiation reports or DoD Airworthiness Authority submissions. Experience managing technical schedules, tracking engineering deliverables, and communicating program status to internal leadership and government customers. U.S. Person (U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident) with the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret Security Clearance.
Preferred qualifications include active Secret Security Clearance, experience supporting a DoD UAS Program of Record or LRIP effort (Group 2–4 UAS preferred), familiarity with MIL-SPEC requirements and MMPDS, experience designing small UAS or attritable/expendable aircraft, experience supporting formal government engineering reviews, and a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline.
